A Different Deal
by jj4622
Summary: Ellen made a deal with a demon... But what if she didn't? What if she accepted the offer of a different creature? A creature who gave her much more, for a lesser cost...


**A/N: Hello there, Witches House fandom. So, this is an idea I don't think has been done yet, but should be quite good. If you wish to know more, read on...**

**This story will contain Ellen x Viola. Don't like, don't read.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Witches House. I may be good, but I'm not that good.**

* * *

"So, you can cure me?" A purple haired girl said.

She stood in the garden of a large mansion. She was wearing a red dress, and her golden eyes stared intently into the red ones of a black cat.

"Well, no. But I can provide you with the power to find a cure for yourself." The cat replied.

"How?"

"Make a pact with me. I'll give you power, but you have to kill people to earn it. You can use various spells that would help you to find a cure, and I'll help you search, of course. Once we've found a spell that'll do the trick, you can heal yourself and our pact will remain intact – Power for lives and souls. So, how do you feel about my offer?"

"Well, I'll have to consider it, but it does seem very generous of you. What about now, though? How much longer do I have to research the cure?"

"Well, so long as you keep taking your medicine… about a year, I think."

_Only a year! I don't have much time left... _"I'd like to accept your offer, but... I have to consider it. I don't know how I feel about... murder."

"Of course, of course. Take all the time you need." The cat said with an understanding expression. "Here, how about this, I'll come back in one week. That'll give you plenty of time right?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Very well then, I shall see you in a week's time... Ellen..." With that, he vanished in a cloud of black smoke.

Ellen sighed, turning to walk back to the house. She had hoped that this demon could help her, but... despite all his promises, she wasn't ready for murder. Or at least, she didn't think she was.

Suddenly, a wave of pain struck her. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, and she fell to the ground, a grimace on her face and a single tear falling from her eye.

* * *

_As Ellen lay there, writhing in pain, something watched her. Something assessed her from the cold void. This observer knew her, knew everything about her. It could see her pain, see it's cause. It could see through the lies around her, and it knew all of the dark secrets that were kept from her. It felt feelings stirring that it hadn't felt in millennia. Feelings of pity, mercy, charity and compassion.. Wondering what it should do, it noticed the demon wandering the void alone._

_Watching the demon, it realised that the demon was trying to trick her. He knew about the cause of her pain too, but he chose not to tell her. He wasn't trying to help her, he just wanted souls. Now the creature watching wanted to help her. And so, it hatched a plan. A plan to make all those who had been against her suffer, all who had tricked her and deceived her pay, and a plan to starve the demon of the souls he craved._

_But most of all, a plan to help Ellen._

* * *

Ellen lay in her bed, unmoving, so tired. She felt so weak... After she'd collapsed in the garden, the gardener had found her, and brought her back inside. Her mother had scolded her for hours, telling her about how it was dangerous for her to be outside. _Yeah, like you care,_ Ellen thought. _All you care about is the sympathy of Fathers business partners. It's why you show me too them every time they're here. And then you sleep with them. And you pretend it's your little secret, but father knows. He's the one who encourages you to do it._

_You both disgust me._

They never even took her to a doctor. They just gave her this arbitrary medicine they said would make her better. The one time she asked to see a doctor, her father slapped her so hard she fell unconscious. She never asked since.

She hated them, for being so heartless. She hated the staff of the house, for turning a blind eye. She hated her parent's friends, for not seeing what was put plainly in front of them.

Humans were all the same. Cold, heartless bastards, only out for themselves. None of them could be trusted. None of them showed any love for anything but themselves.

She was going to be used again tonight. Paraded in front of all those people, a tool of her parents, used to garner sympathy. And they would make her so weak she couldn't even speak.

She hated everything so much.

And as she lay there, hating the world, she felt a presence. Something was in there with her. Something sat by her side, watching her, trying to get her attention. So she decided she would speak to it.

"H-hello? Who's-" She paused as she was interrupted by a fit of coughing. "Ugh… Who's there…?"

A shadowy form appeared next to her bed. It looked extremely scary – Indeed, its presence filled the air with a miasma of dread and insanity. However, as Ellen looked on, she noticed certain details in the creature that she hadn't noticed before. Like how it seemed to have the shape and size of a child, about her age. How it had two soft, shimmering silver dots where the eyes should be. How its form seemed to be slowly coalescing into a more stable, solid shape. And of course, how it appeared to have a nervous smile.

"_**Hello?"**_It said, with the voice of a boy, in his early teens. But, under that voice, Ellen could hear a chorus of myriad other voices. A little girl, an old man, a young woman and so many other different voices, all layered under the voice of a young boy. _**"Your name is Ellen, correct?"**_By this point its form had coalesced into the rough shape of a young boy, who matched the voice quite well. He had black hair that had no clearly defined shape, soft silvery eyes and pale skin. He wore dark clothes, but she couldn't tell what they were yet.

"Yes, I'm Ellen. Who are you?" She asked as his body slowly became more and more solid. Now she could see his hair was fairly long, falling to the base of his neck, and slightly spiky. He wore a dark purple shirt with a green hooded jumper, open at the front, dark blue jeans and scuffed black boots. The nervous smile on his face had been replaced with an easy, calm expression, though still with a trace of his nerves.

"_**My name is… Well, what is my name?"**_He said, with a puzzled expression on his face. _**"I… I've never really needed a name before. Well… It doesn't matter anyway. The thing is, I would like to talk with you Ellen."**_

"What about?" She asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

"_**Well, I never really do a lot, so normally I just… observe? Yes, I think observe is the right word… Anyhow, I like watching you people, humans, you're all so fascinating, the way you rush around, trying to get things done… but a few years ago, I saw you. You have to understand that talking to you like this, on your level, is actually a great effort for me, as normally your years pass like minutes to me. So I saw you, and I observed you, and I noticed so many things that were wrong. So… I guess what I'm trying to say is… Don't make a deal with that demon. He's only in it for himself. Make a deal with me, and I'll give you everything you want. Your life, your freedom, your body… I can make them all yours again, and if you ever need something, you need only call me and I will help you."**_

"Well, you make a good offer, but… What's the catch? The price?"

"_**The price? Does there have to be one? Um… I don't know, what should it be!?"**_

"Wait, hold on a second. You were offering all of that for free?"

"_**Well, yes, but… if there has to be a price, then there has to be a price, but… There's nothing I want!"**_

"Stop." He paused, looking at her with a pleading expression. "There doesn't have to be a price, but… How about this? You give me all that, and I'll give you… a name?"

"_**A name? Yes, a name would be nice, I guess…" **_He said with a small smile. _**"But what would you call me?"**_

"Um…" Ellen's eyes wandered over the shelves, till her eyes settled on one. _Norse mythology? Actually, maybe there is a good name in there… hmm… _"Could you pass me that book up there?" She said indicating the book with her finger. When he had passed it down to her, she flicked through, looking at the names and assessing them. _Thor or Odin… no… Fenrir? Maybe… okay, definitely not Skidbladnir… Hang on a second, there's a good one… _"My friend, do we have a deal?"

"_**Yes we do."**_

"Then, my good friend Loki, tell me what I need to know…"

He smiled as she said the name. _**"Loki… yes, I like how that sounds. Well, the first thing is, you haven't got a disease."**_

"Yes I do! That's what this whole thongs about!"

"_**Not quite, my dear Ellen. Why do you always feel so much worse shortly after the medicine? And why, no matter how much medicine they give you, do you never feel any better?"**_

"What are you saying…?"

"_**I'm sorry Ellen… but that's not medicine, its poison."**_

"So, all this time… they've been trying to kill me?"

"_**I'm sorry, but yes. Here, let me flush it out of your system." **_With that, Loki tapped her head, and Ellen felt her limbs suddenly strengthen. The pain was gone all of a sudden, and Ellen quickly swung her legs to the side and got out of bed. _I can walk! _She thought with joy.

Suddenly the door opened and a maid walked in. "Miss Ellen, I'm here to give you your medicine…" She said, trailing off as she saw Ellen standing there, with no trouble at all, and Loki sitting on the bed, watching her every move. "I… Miss Ellen? You're walking…" She was cut off as Loki flickered, appearing next to her, and tapped her shoulder. She crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"Loki, what did you do?" Ellen asked nervously.

"_**She'll be fine, she's merely unconscious. Now, we must hurry, for I'd rather we left without killing anyone. Pack up some clothes and any belongings you want to keep."**_

Ellen nodded, packing a few dresses, including her favourite red one, some clean underwear and a bottle of water into a black rucksack that she found in the back of her cupboard (Probably a present from a friend of her parents' who was more than a little bit stupid). Seeing the dagger buried in her drawer, a present from the chef, she paused a moment in recollection of the incident…

* * *

_There was a knock at the door, and it opened as a man walked in with a plate of food on a trolley. He deposited the food on the bedside as usual, but before he left, he pulled a thick, padded envelope from inside his suit. Curious Ellen asked him what it was._

"_I do not know," He replied, "I was merely told to give it to you by the head chef." And with that, he left._

_Opening the parcel, Ellen was shocked to see a dagger fall out, complete with its sheath. A small note fell out at the same time, and she picked it up to read it._

'_Ellen,_

_This knife was given to me when I joined the SAS and is very precious to me. However, after what I saw yesterday, I feel it deserves to be in the hands of one who would have a use for it. Please, only use it if you have no other choice._

_We're not all against you. Try to remember that'_

* * *

Ellen out the knife in her pocket. "I'm ready." She said, casting her gaze over to Loki.

"_**Good, we'll have to be quick. Stick close to me so we aren't seen, okay?"**_

"Okay." With that, Loki rushed out of the door, moving quickly down the hall before coming to a junction. With a quick glance to either side, he was off again, Ellen hard pressed to keep up with him. Ducking behind a statue, he moti0oned for her to do the same, and she did. After the butler had walked past, they both made a mad dash for the door at the end of the corridor, entering the entrance hall of the house. With a furtive look to each of the doors, they run through the main door, and out into the night.

"_**Keep going to the forest, and don't stop until you hear my voice. Oh, and take this." **_Producing a torch from somewhere, he flicked it on and handed it to her.

"Thank you." She said, and she ran.

As she ran away. Loki smiled. He heard a scream of rage from the house, and a deep voice shouting, "FIND HER!" With a sly smirk, he clicked his fingers, and watched as thick vines grew over the house, trapping all the people within. _That should hold them up. _He thought, and then he vanished in a cloud of dark smoke.

* * *

Ellen ran through the forest, tree branches whipping at her hands and face. Unable to see what was in front of her, she stumbled on roots and logs many times. Suddenly she saw a wall of dense bushes and trees, blocking her path. Unsure of what to do, she was startled when Loki's voice whispered in her ear. _**"Turn left."**_ Obeying immediately, she ran off to the left, and kept running before she hit a particularly large log and fell hard. Trying to pull herself to her feet, she saw a foot appear in front of her. Looking up, she saw a girl she didn't recognise. A girl with Golden blonde hair, green eyes and a snow white dress. Ellen noticed her outstretched hand and took it in hers.

"Hello, what are you doing out here?" The girl asked, helping her to her feet. "I'm Viola. What's your name?"

"My name is Ellen."

* * *

**A/N: Well, that was the first chapter of A Different Deal. I hope you enjoyed it, and be sure to review if you did. Flames will be fed to the cat.**

**As always, I'll see you next time. Until then;**

**JJ4622, Over and Out.**


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